Osa Ojuani

The path of the rainbow

When Olofin created the earth, he covered it entirely with water and told all his children to do whatever they could to make that water disappear, gathering it into a single place so that they could live in Aiye (the earth). All the Orishas set about opening channels to gather the waters into the low ground, and those channels became the rivers that exist today. Dandajuero, who was a friend of Orunmila, went to see him and said: «My abure (my brother), Olofin has given us a terrible task so that we may live on the earth, but with neither hands nor feet I cannot do my part.» Orunmila made him a reading of Ifá and saw this Ifá; he performed an ebbo and prepared an inshe-Ozain (sacred object), to which he fed a ram and 16 coconuts, and he placed the heads of all those animals inside a güiro. He then hung it on Dandajuero’s seal and ordered him to circle the earth floating on the güiro, but without looking back. Dandajuero set out at dawn and, as he finished his flight around the planet and began his descent, he heard a strange sound that said: «blu, blu, blu…» and he asked himself: «What can that be, following me with its sound? Could it be this güiro?» But he did not turn his head, and he went on traveling around the earth. He came down when the inshe-Ozain had created dry land.

The other Orishas who had created the rivers came before Olofin after exactly 16 days to give account of their efforts. All of them told Olofin that they had created the rivers. When Olofin asked Dandajuero, he answered: «Father, with the help of Ifá alone, I created the ocean that surrounds the whole earth.» Olofin rewarded the other Orishas with women, gold, jewels and riches, and to Dandajuero, who had created the universal ocean and the lands where they could live, he gave, alone, a woman with reddish hair, misshapen and of coppery skin. The other Orishas began to mock Dandajuero, but they did not know that this woman was Olofin’s daughter.

Dandajuero, displeased, returned to Orunmila’s house and told him about the woman Olofin had given him, saying: «If you saw her, you would be sick.» Orunmila said to him: «Olofin has given you his own daughter as your prize; do not reject her.» Then they performed the same ebbo, but this time they added gunpowder (otubon) and earth from the crab’s burrow (inle ilakan) to the inshe-Ozain. This was done so that she could enter his house.

One day, Dandajuero asked his wife: «What do you see in me?» She answered with another question: «What has Orunmila told you about me? Why do you ask me that?» Dandajuero, changing the course of the conversation, said: «It is that Orunmila marked this inshe-Ozain for me and I have been left with no money.» She answered: «That is nothing; you will have a great fortune.» «What do you say?» Dandajuero asked her. She answered: «Turn your back to me for a moment.» He turned, and the woman began to whistle very loudly. Suddenly, great winds from the north, south, east and west blew over the earth, and millions of living beings, humans, animals and plants appeared throughout the world, and Dandajuero’s wife became very beautiful.

At that moment, Dandajuero understood the great prize Olofin had granted him, and he too became beautiful. He and his wife, who was Aidajuero, became rainbows, showing themselves as two figures high in the sky. The other Orishas envied him and wanted to be rid of him by any means. Oshosi tried to kill him, but Dandajuero dazzled him with his light, and the Orishas said: «Dandajuero is like Olofin himself.» And so Dandajuero went on his way across the heavens.

A woman will bring you all the good fortune you will enjoy in your life, since she is a daughter of Olofin. Here the universal ocean and the rivers were created. Cosmonautics was born, since Dandajuero was the first to fly around the whole planet.

The path of the charcoal burner

There was a married couple of charcoal burners who were in very hard straits. One day, the man decided to consult Orunmila, and Orunmila revealed this Ifá to him. Ifá told him: «You will find an abandoned girl; take her in and raise her as if she were your own daughter. As she grows, your prosperity will grow with her. The girl will give you a secret name, and you must not speak it in front of anyone, so that you do not lose your good fortune.» Orunmila performed an ebbo with: a rooster, charcoal, a doll, white cloth, a string of colored beads…

Not long afterward, the charcoal burner passed near one of his charcoal kilns and found an abandoned girl. He remembered Ifá’s prediction and decided to take her home. Once in the house, the girl revealed her secret name and warned them that it could not be spoken in front of anyone.

As the girl grew, the couple’s prosperity increased, and in a short time they came to have everything they wanted in life. One day, an old woman came to their house seeking shelter, and they took her in. The old woman began to envy the good life they led, but she realized that the girl distrusted her intentions, so she tried to win her confidence.

One day, in front of the old woman, the couple called the girl by her nickname, her secret name, and that night the girl left with the old woman who was living in their house. From that moment on, the couple began to lose their good fortune and everything went badly for them. At last, in quite desperate straits, the charcoal burner decided to return to Orunmila’s house. Orunmila made a reading of Ifá and revealed this Ifá, which told him: «Through your disobedience you have lost your well-being. The secret name of the one who brought you your good fortune was spoken in front of strangers, and she has gone away. You must make an ebbo with: a rooster, charcoal, earth from your footprints, your body measure, red cloth…» This will allow you to recover something of your good fortune, since you have lost the Ashé that Olofin had granted you and you will never again be as you were.

This Ifá determines that you must not reveal to anyone the details of your spiritual protections, so that they are not stolen from you and you do not lose that protection and, with it, your good fortune. It is possible that you met that entity on your path because it is in tune with you. It also indicates that there are intimate secrets you must not disclose to anyone, since you would harm yourself by doing so.

The secret of the coconut, the basket and the palm

There was a time when Elegbá and Eshu Dika were searching for the items for the ebbo that Orunmila had marked for them: the head of a goat, the head of a dove, a basket and two kola nuts. During their journey across the earth they found the goat’s head and the kola nuts, but they found it hard to come by anything suitable for making the basket.

Weary of walking, they came to a kola nut tree (coco leru) and asked it for its leaves to make the basket. The kola nut tree refused to give them. Eshu cursed it, saying: «may your children not stay with you always, for being so proud.» At that moment, two nuts fell from the kola nut tree, and Eshu Dike put them in his pocket to dedicate them to Obatalá.

Elegbá and Eshu Dika went on their way and met the oludo kola nut tree (Brazilian kola nuts). They asked it for its leaves to make the basket. The tree said to them: «you may take them gladly, but they will not serve for what you want, since they are very weak and have no strength.» Eshu Dike took a few and put them on his head to shield himself from the fierce sun, and said to it: «even though your leaves are weak, you will always be in good condition.»

Shortly afterward, they met a royal palm and asked it for its leaves to make the basket. And it gave them freely, so Elegbá and Eshu Dika were able to build the basket for the ebbo. Afterward they blessed the royal palm for having helped them make the ebbo and be saved from their enemies.

NOTE: When someone asks you for something, do not refuse in a bad manner. If you have what they ask for but do not wish to give it, do not act proud and overbearing; simply give a fitting excuse, because there are people who believe that when someone has what they need, they ought to be served, and when they feel let down they may curse.

When a favor is done, it should be done freely, without expecting anything in return. If someone asks you for something and it is not in good condition, be honest and, before handing it over, point out its defects, so that they do not form a bad impression of you.

According to some senior babalawos, this account has another reading. The kola nut tree represents the man’s virile member when he has some sexual trouble, since the kola nut tree generally does not grow fully upright or straight, and when the nuts fall it is because they are diseased. For them, the nuts represent the testicles. This applies when this Ifá marks: intori arun. The man suffers some illness in his testicles that prevents him from having a virile erection.

The basket represents the woman’s vagina. Through intori arun, she suffers from it: fibroids, venereal diseases or congenital malformation of the womb. Through ire she has no trouble; she is healthy. The palm tree applies through ire: the man will be sexually strong.

The path of the two women

There were two women who were very fond of one another. One day the younger of them became pregnant and asked her older friend to be godmother to her child-to-be, and so it was.

One day the girl fell ill and her mother took her to Orunmila’s house. In the consultation of the oracle, this Ifá came out in Osobo (misfortune), and Orunmila said to the girl’s mother: «You must be grateful for what is done for you and for your daughter. Now you must put the eleke of Obatalá on her, and when she turns seven you must take her to a godfather or godmother in the religion so that she may be consecrated in Osha and be kept from dying.»

The girl’s mother went to her comadre and told her what Orunmila had said about her daughter and about the need for an eleke of Obatalá. The godmother lent one to her baptismal godchild until the mother could find a godfather or godmother in the religion for the girl.

In those days, the girl’s godmother had planted a coconut tree at her house, but the animals would not let it grow, so she borrowed a basket from her comadre to protect the plant.

The tree grew and the basket protected it, but the owner of the basket gave it no further thought.

As life would have it, one day the comadres quarreled, and one demanded her eleke and the other her basket. They went before the courts, and both suffered losses.

Friendship

There were two friends who had gone about together since they were young. To seal their friendship, they agreed to plant a coconut palm. One brought a hoop and the other brought the palm. In time they fell out over an argument, and each claimed what was his. The one who had placed the hoop wanted it back, but to get it he would have had to fell the palm. They decided to leave things as they were, as a proof of their friendship.

NOTE: Here a ram is offered to Yemayá so that the friendship is not broken.

The mother-in-law

There was a man who had everything he needed to marry, but his mother-in-law would not give him a room in the house so that they could all live together. The daughter knew what her mother wanted, and he knew that his mother-in-law was meddlesome and involved herself in everything, so he could not bring himself to marry. On top of having no work, he had a job opportunity in mind but could not manage to secure it. Nor could he bear his stepfather constantly arguing with his mother and insulting him whenever he pleased, since what he wanted was a house of his own. In the end he was able to make his dream real after going to Orunmila’s house, where this Ifá was seen for him along with another olofo araye. An ebbo was prescribed and he was able to resolve his problem.

«Olofo araye» refers to a form of divination that uses a coin instead of dilogún or ikines.

The awo called Beboni Ifá

In the land of Osabe Ojuani, at the entrance of the town, there lived an awo called Beboni Ifá; but he devoted himself to working with Eggun and had the entrance of the town blocked with different woods planted there. He had a great power that kept anyone living in that land from leaving for another place. Meanwhile, Awo Beboniye Ifá kept Elegbá entertained, giving him Osiadie and Otí every night, and Elegbá would fall asleep. Awo Beboniye would go to the entrance of the city with his prenda and the townspeople would follow him. He carried an Otí in his hand and sang: «fefe Lekun Ikú Eggun Ayo Ruye«. And a mist could be seen covering the whole entrance of the town, making the people kneel to plead and beg to Elegbá, who was asleep and distracted, while he too sang with his offering: «efefe Lekun Eggun Ikú Eggun Ayo Niye«. Then Awo Beboniye Ifá would feed the heads of the whole town with Ayakua and keep them under his rule by means of his prenda.

Olofin was worried because he had no news of Elegbá. One day, Omo Eni Juani met Shangó and told him: «Olofin wants to see you, because he has no news of Elegbá.» Shangó set out with Eni Juani for Olofin’s house. When they arrived, Shangó paid homage to Olofin, and Olofin asked him about Elegbá. Shangó answered that he knew nothing of Elegbá. Olofin told him that in the land of Osobe Ojuani there lived Awo Beboniye Ifá, but no one knew how to reach that land because they did not know the way. That is where Awo Beboniye Ifá lives. That awo performed divination at four in the morning and was saved by Osa Juani. It told him: «I must change Elegbá’s food, because otherwise he will leave and will discover how I live.» He fetched a plantain and seven herbs of Elegbá and told Elegbá that he had to bathe with the seven herbs, and he fed him the etu. While he was feeding the etu to Elegbá’s head, he sang: «aye Eyenibye Elegbara Osa Juani«. Elegbá began to convulse and was left in a state of confusion, but even so the awo went on with his rule.

Shangó said to Olofin: «I will look for Elegbá; in any case, you owe me something,» and Olofin handed him sulfur and palm oil. Shangó set out on the road, singing: «belike Ni Awo Laroye Ni Eggun, Beleke, Ni Awo».

Shangó went along scattering sulfur and spreading it until he reached that land, and he could see nothing. Elegbá, who was in a corner, heard the song and said: «That voice is Shangó’s.» He leapt to his feet and began to sing. Elegbá took the awo’s prendas and went out to the yard. He came to Shangó, handed the chicken to Elegbá, and began to burn away all the hairs with sulfur and palm oil. When he had finished, he went out to the entrance of the town with Awo Beboniye Ifá, who knelt down, and he told them: «Stay kneeling until Olofin comes.» Elegbara went off to fetch Olofin, singing: «akokoti We Baba». Olofin heard Elegbá’s voice, and Elegbá told him: «Shangó awaits you, together with Awo Beboniye Ifá, whom he has kneeling at the entrance of the town.»

Olofin set out with Elegbá and saw the crowd of people, and they rejoiced. Olofin arrived and asked Shangó what had happened, and Shangó told him everything and said: «Here the prenda was handed over, a chicken was given to the whole town on the head, and everyone began to feel well.» Awo Beboniye Ifá asked for forgiveness, and Shangó told him: «As long as the world exists, you will have the ekuele to perform readings, and you will feed the prenda when Orunmila tells you to.»

Shangó took an etu and began to give blessings to all the people of that town, singing: «fefe Lekun Etu Etu Ire Ire Eggun Ikú Alona». And that shadow grew and everything was resolved. Affliction disappeared from the town, and Awo Beboniye prospered and was able to do good for his people.

The etu and bogbo for which the obí is worked: ebbo is made with it, it is given to the ota and to igui; the ayakua in Shangó’s name carries the head inside; with the chicken for Elegbá, blood is poured onto the ebbo; ashe and epó are poured on the fish head and it is taken to the corner.

Shangó eats guinea hen and quail; inshe with whatever animal he takes; a protective charm is made for Shangó with the etu. Shangó does not eat akuko in this sign.

The giant lion and the red parakeet

On this path there lived a giant lion who kept apart in the deepest part of the jungle, and his strength was such that his roar caused great fear, making all the animals flee when they heard his steps. One day the king of the jungle rose earlier than usual, and the red parakeet, who always dreamed of flying off into the cosmos, had no time to hide and found himself face to face with the giant lion.

The lion said to him: «Do you want to be my friend, then?» «No, mister lion,» answered the red parakeet as calmly as he could. «Ah, no?» the lion growled in his mighty voice. «Yes, mister lion?» said the parakeet. Then the lion asked him: «Well, do you want to be my friend or not?» «Yes, I mean no; I mean yes,» answered the flustered parakeet. «And are you not afraid I will devour you?» the lion asked. «No, mister lion. I know you will not do it,» the red parakeet assured him. «Well, well, how sure you are of my goodness,» said the lion. «But all right, I will not eat you for now; perhaps later on.» «Oh no, mister lion, I promise I will be your friend,» declared the red parakeet. «You, my friend? But I have no friends. All the animals fear me. Do you not see how they hide when I appear?» exclaimed the lion. «Ah, yes, but I no longer fear you,» said the parakeet, trying to look him in the eye. «Do you truly not fear me?» the lion asked, surprised. «No, no sir, I assure you,» said the parakeet. «How curious! You, such a tiny little animal, and you do not fear me. Meanwhile the big ones tremble when they see me,» said the lion. «It is that we have never spoken with you, and of course… well… of course, from the day we were born we were taught to flee from you,» answered the parakeet. «Now that we have met and are talking, perhaps we can be friends.» «Yes, mister lion,» said the parakeet. «Very well, climb on my back; I will take you for a walk through the jungle,» said the lion.

With some misgiving, the red parakeet climbed onto the lion’s back, and the lion set off toward the deepest part of the jungle. All the animals were still hiding, and some peered out cautiously to see what was happening. It was the rabbit who sensed the danger threatening the red parakeet and, without wasting a moment, raised the alarm: «The giant lion is carrying off the red parakeet.» «The king of the jungle has caught the red parakeet!» repeated the squirrels, and the word spread quickly through the whole jungle: «We have to do something,» said the giraffes, twining their necks, and they all said as one: «We have to save the red parakeet.»

Without thinking twice, they all armed themselves with stones, sticks and anything that could serve as a weapon, and set out to rescue the red parakeet. Soon they sighted the giant lion’s lair, a cave surrounded by dense vegetation, with a glass window that reflected the glare of the sun.

The animals approached the glass window cautiously. The giraffe, with her long neck, was the first to look in, but she saw no trace of the lion or the parakeet, and she told the others so. «Let us have a look,» said the squirrels, climbing up the giraffe’s neck. «Perhaps I will see him,» said the rabbit, but he only made out a bored spider in the room.

«Do you know where the lion is?» the giraffe asked the spider. «Not the lion. He leaves early and comes back at sundown,» answered the spider. «And what does he do all that time?» asked the giraffe. «I have no idea,» answered the spider. «Nor have I seen any red parakeet around here.» «We will not trouble you any further,» said the animals. «Thank you all the same.»

They all grew sad and returned to their homes with their heads down, having failed to find the red parakeet. The next morning the sun shone brightly through the foliage and life was reborn in the forest. They all came out of their burrows and nests, ready to carry out their daily chores, but they were all thinking about the uncertain fate of the red parakeet. Suddenly they heard a strange noise, like the roar of a lion and the squawk of a parrot together, and they all pricked up their ears and waited impatiently. Through the undergrowth, the lion’s steps echoed through the jungle.

The lion came near, and upon his majestic mane the red parakeet was shouting at the top of his voice: «Come out, all of you, come out, the giant lion will not harm you! You must listen to what I have to tell you.» The red parakeet’s voice rang out like thunder: «If you face danger bravely, gallantry is better than dying under its claws.»

All the animals looked at one another in astonishment, as though what they were seeing and hearing were a dream. From that day on, the animals no longer feared the giant lion, and the red parakeet became the king of the jungle.

Why the water of the sea is salty

At the beginning of the world, the water of the sea was sweet and food was seasoned with salt from the mines, which was scarce and costly in some places because there were no mines and it was hard to come by.

In that land there were two princes: one called Osaguere, son of Yemayá and poor, and the other called Osa Moni, son of Shangó and owner of riches thanks to the sale of the saltpeter taken from his mines. Many times Osaguere had to depend on Osa Moni’s charity to survive, and Osa Moni always mocked him. One day, weary of this situation, Osaguere went to Orunmila’s house seeking divination. Orunmila saw this Ifá for him, and marked him an ebó for Yemayá, to be taken to her house, since she would grant him a good fortune so that he could live well.

Osaguere spent the little he had to make the ebó, and when he had made it and went to Yemayá’s house to deliver it, he began to sing: «awo yoda ara llugua mariwo iya mioyetu yetu abo oro junjuo». Yemayá then handed him a mortero keke and ewé karodo, telling him: «take it to Orunmila’s house and ask him to do what he knows. You will see that with this you will obtain the good fortune you want, so as to live like your brother Osa Moni.»

Osaguere set off for Orunmila’s house singing: «omode Ekifalafalagba Oshuo Ee, Omode Ekifalafalagba Oshire Agba, Orisha Ekifalagba Oshio». When he arrived, Orunmila told him: «you must always bathe with ewe karodo (purple canutillo), and with this mortar you will turn out the salt with which you will grow rich.» Then Orunmila cleaned the mortar with eyele meyi and handed it to him, saying: «now, whenever you wish, pound the iyo and sing: ‘oiyo Oiyo Oiyo, Odo Miguale Ibu Asesu Ee, Ona Ona Osigua Ona Toshishe, Leiyo Ilu Oso Ee, Oiyo Oiyo Oiyo Oiyo, Ona Toshishe Leiyo Ilu Oso Ee‘. And when you want it to stop, sing: ‘Enito Bagua Okuo Yaledo Obi Awe Ibu Asesu Ayabamio’».

So it happened that Osa Guere became immensely rich in a short time, while Osa Moni’s mine ran dry and stopped producing salt. Osa Moni needed to fill a ship to meet a contract and asked his brother to lend him the mortar. Osa Guere answered: «I will rent it to you in exchange for your flag,» and Osa Moni agreed. Osa Moni put the mortar in the ship and began to pile up salt, but since he did not know the suyere to stop it, the ship filled and the mortar would not stop pounding. The ship sank into the sea with Osa Moni and the mortar. And it came about that the mortar went on piling up salt at the bottom of the sea, and the water of the sea turned salty.

Seeing this, Osa Guere went to Yemayá, and she told him: «Now, if you want to trade in salt, you will have to take it from the sea.» So they began to build salt pans, and he employed many men to work there. Then he went to Orunmila, who told him: «So that you may rule both in your own land and in your brother’s, you must cross the two flags and join them with a chain from the ebbo. And you must place it above the door so that everyone respects you.» Since then, the water of the sea is salty.